Tennessee Legalizes Medical Marijuana Oil

May 6, 2015

It's now legal to use cannabis oil for limited medical purposes in Tennessee.

And the Mathes family is ready. The East Tennessee family already had the oil and a recommendation from a doctor before Monday. Their 1-year-old daughter, Josie, still has the seizures that have plagued her short life.

They just needed Gov. Bill Haslam to give final approval to arguably Tennessee's first broader step toward legalizing a marijuana product for medicinal use.

That moment came Monday, when, as expected, Haslam signed a law that legalized the controversial medical measure.

"We're very, very happy that we can get started and see some improvements and get the nasty medicines behind us," Josie's mother, Stacie Mathes, said Monday afternoon.

The Matheses started giving Josie the cannabis oil as soon as they got the word the bill was signed. There's no guarantee it works, and even if it does it will take time. But the new law provides hope.